#cue is the awkwardness and flashback

[thekintsugidyke]

no one in the mcr fandom has the balls to do a frerard ‘one of their kids is a tik tok emo” fic

[odie-mel]

Imagine that Dipper manages to time travel back to the era where Ford and McGucket are still in full swing of their investigations of Gravity Falls.

Like maybe a time historian and a time agent are sent to document the happenings of Weirdmageddon (a la the same time agency as Blending) and after the historian is documenting things one of them drops a time measuring tape - whatever. However you need to make the time travel aspect work.

Maybe Dipper, as an adult down the road, is house-sitting the Mystery Shack for Soos and while he's looking after things he finds the time tape measure in the shack. He pulls out the tape of the measure without really thinking and then when he really looks at it, he realizes what it is and it startles him enough that he drops it. When it falls, the tape goes back into the tape measure, triggering the time travel mechanism, but because it was dropped it doesn't travel back in time with Dipper. Again, whatever makes this a feasible storyline.

Dipper ends up working with Ford and McGucket while they help him figure out how to get home (he showed up in the Mystery Shack, before their very eyes, and now they're fascinated to study him as another Gravity Falls anomaly).

The amount of awkwardness he would be made to endure. Not just the nerdy, subtle (as a hammer, but they're both dense idiots) flirting betwixt McGucket and his own uncle but also the horrible Trainwreck that would have been the early Ford/Bill partnership. Poor Dipper would end up as an impromptu relationship counselor in a mad attempt to prevent Bill from manipulating Ford, and maybe change the events that led to his uncle disappearing into a portal realm for decades. Someone please save Dipper from the awkward situationship that is Fiddauthor, and the weird triangle demon that wants his Uncle carnally.

Subplot where Dipper stashes notes all over the shack for Mabel to find when she inevitably notices he's missing and she finds the time tape measure on the floor where Dipper dropped it. The twins found most of these notes the first time they ever came to Gravity Falls, and she would remember them because they were so weird - they were signed Dipper, how was that possible when they'd never been here before?, etc... Of course Dipper also wrote a note, maybe even more than one, detailing the exact time he'd been sent back to, but of course those particular notes were all impossible to find because they were all destroyed in the most narratively frustrating ways possible.

(Cue flashbacks where Stan finds one and promptly disregards it as more Ford weirdness and tosses it without a second thought, where Soos vacuums one up without noticing while cleaning around the shack one day to be extra noticably helpful to Stan, and another where Dipper & Mabel accidentally destroy one during one of their wild summer adventures, etc...)

I'm very tired, so this is half baked and not very well thought out. Please enjoy. Interact, even. Love you all, and see you tomorrow morning friends.

[vulpisnocturna]

Hey there! Glad to see you're back! ♥ Since you say you want headcanon requests... How would all our Uchiha's (mostly Itachi because I'm such a simp for him, but also Shisui, Sasuke, Madara, Obito and Indra and maybe Indra respond if their lover was confirmed to have been captured by enemy forces on a mission or during a war? And how would they respond if/when their lover was recovered alive but showing severe physical and mental damage from the torture they'd endured?

Hey my lovely, happy to be back 🤍

Uchiha reactions to a captured/PTSD suffering S/O

Itachi:

- would absolutely infiltrate enemy lines and retrieve their S/O, without sparing torture on the enemies. This man would torture them tenfold for every injury his S/O was subjected to. He would break their minds with Tsukuyomi and leave no survivors

- would be gentle and patient with his S/O, and it would break his heart to see them so broken after what happened to them. As a pacifist and someone who has a deep hatred for conflict and war, he would be furious and mournful that his SO has to live with the scars of the cruelty of the world

- He would definitely be the type to soothe his SO after nightmares, go for a walk in the moonlight with them to release pent-up stress, and generally be more protective of them. He would inform himself on how to best deal with panic attacks and try to therapise his S/O

- Itachi’s advice and “words of wisdom” may be of comfort but they may also fall flat because he tends to speak from a place of rationality more than emotion, and as a walking embodiment of PTSD, he’s one to talk. But hey, he is quite wise, and he means well.

Obito:

- Would literally go absolutely batshit crazy if his S/O was kidnapped and held hostage by the enemy. Cue the Rin flashbacks. Would destroy the world, burn it to ashes, go to Hell and back and make it rain blood. …Literally. He would be on his most unhinged, insane behaviour

- his SO should expect to never leave his side after that. He will be overprotective, like they are an infant who is at risk of dying with every breath

- would have nightmares about what happened and it would enrage him and break his heart to see his S/O broken by what they endured.

- wouldn’t know what to say or do to console them, except promise to always protect them and never let it happen again

Madara:

- you don’t fuck with Madara’s S/O. If you do, there is an incoming cataclysm your way. He would destroy their lineage for daring to hurting his loved ones. Would definitely worsen the war in an attempt to get revenge

- would be helpless in the face of dealing with PTSD. Madara is a strong person, who grew up not really learning how to express his feelings, and therefore, he doesn’t know how to deal with them

- would be the type to stand a few feet from them, stiff and awkward and boiling with fury and sorrow inside at the sight of their S/O hurting, but somehow, he can’t come up with anything worthwhile to say. Will probably say something like “it’s over now. It won’t happen again” and that’s it

Indra:

- oh boy, you messed up. His S/O is like his most prized possession to him, and no one can take that from him and break one of his things. Takes it more as a personal insult rather than anything else. Will kill everyone who disrespected him like that

- will probably be saddened but also frustrated by his S/O’s inability to get over what happened

- “it’s over now. No point crying about it”. He doesn’t mean to be cruel, but it’s just a matter of stating facts to him.

- what, his S/O doesn’t trust him to keep them safe or something? Do they doubt his strength?

Shisui:

- would definitely activate the other side of Shisui. Would efficiently and ruthlessly kill everyone who sought to hurt the person he loves. He would be there in a second

- the safety and comfort of his S/O after such a horrible ordeal would be his priority. A bit like Itachi, he would always be there to offer comfort, a shoulder to cry on or a distraction in difficult times to follow

- However, unlike Itachi’s therapy sessions, he is more the type to try to lighten the mood and lift his S/O’s spirits. He would make it his mission to make them laugh and keep them happy, sometimes to the point of stifling them and making them feel a little alienated

- if he’s asked to have a serious conversation about what happened, however, he is very serious about it, and very protective and comforting

Sasuke:

- cue a revenge plan. He is not joking around. This man has lost every single person he loved, and if his S/O is abducted and tortured, he is there in the span of 0.1 second raining hellfire on the people who dared hurt a person he loves

- This man is like a big ball of PTSD, and not the best at comforting and offering advice on how to heal. It’s taken him years, a self-discovery journey, an obsessive friend beating him up and exploding his arm to heal. Expect him to be there like a silent presence hovering around his S/O like a cat sensing something is wrong with their favourite person but not knowing what to do about it

- would wake them up from nightmares and sit with them in silence to calmly listen to them vent and cry. Sasuke is a very emotional person underneath, but he thinks he needs to be strong for his loved one, to be a safe haven but mostly an anchor to rely on

- would be terrified himself of losing his S/O again, and therefore be quite overprotective (he stalks his S/O secretly wherever they go)

[fatuismooches]

Idk if this had been done yet but Dadtorre having a son that looks exactly like him that people mistake his son for a segment?

His lover finds it hilarious, they had their suspicions when their son first came to the world, which grew stronger the moment the infant could open his eyes, showing that red they so loved. Surely, the kid wouldn't be the spitting image of his father—

But then he reaches toddler age and he has the same hair. He's literally Zandy 2.0

His lover would be giggling at him, especially when Dottore has a faint hue of pink embarrassment dusting his cheeks. Damn it, who knew his genetics would be this strong?! Now everyone thinks he'd made a second child segment!

He's not getting 'Congratulations!' He's getting: 'Doctor, why have you made a second segment of your youth...?' from his colleagues!

Things get especially awkward when their son reaches around Alpha's age, people start mistaking him for the segment and give him reports unprompted.

A researcher could spout at him about his father's latest project, and the son would go: "Okay, I'll be sure to tell my father that :D" cue in the horrified look of that poor researcher. Does this count as dissemination?!

While their son inherits his father's face, he did not inherit the personality. Which means they now have a boy who looks exactly like Dottore, but has his spouse's personality running around the place. So people mistake him for this particularly bubbly and chatty segment (he definitely got his father's intelligence though so him tinkering with stuff in the lab doesn't help)

Oh, and for a tinge of angst :3

He inherits the illness.

There would be days when he can't get out of bed at all, pain shooting up all through his aching joints, making every twitch agonising.

This fuels Dottore to find the cure even more, for a memory haunts him. That night where he found his spouse comforting their child all those years ago, cradling his little body close to their chest, on their lap as the child sobbed, begging for this terrifying persistent ache to stop. Dottore could only stand by the doorway of his son's room as his spouse gently hushes him, false reassurances falling in abundance from their lips, promising that they will teach him how to deal with the pain for they have it too.

Dottore swears that he will save them.

Before your son was born, you had always teased your husband about the possibility, to which he scoffed at. (Perhaps a part of him wasn't sure what he'd do, knowing they'd bear such a resemblance to him, a monster.) Of course, you end up being right and you have laughed about it multiple times, much to his dismay. (Despite his kid's resemblance to him, his ever-observant eye still manages to pick out your features that had passed along to his son. The more his kid grows, the more he notices them both physically and in his personality, and he notes them all down, not wanting a single one to slip by him.)

Although the comments he gets are a nuisance, he supposes they aren't unwarranted. After all, it's still probably more believable that he made another segment rather than him having a child. A lot of times he brushes these questions off and said colleague doesn't find out until you break the news to them. They go so pale you think they may collapse in that instant (flashbacks to the time they provided him information, and wondered why he seemed much sweeter than he usually did.) It's probably so unnatural for others to see - the poor agents are getting whiplash from dealing with their boss's coldness and then being greeted by the child smiling widely at them. They watch as his son and you tease the Harbinger in front of them with no remorse. It's a bit scary, to be honest.

Your son inheriting your illness is no doubt your worst nightmare. You would think that Celestia punishing you would be enough, but no, they have to hurt your child too. You have to watch as he relives everything you did, watch as he's robbed of his childhood and so many memories and experiences. You resort to sleeping with him in case he's woken up from his pains and cannot sleep, your only remedy being to hold him and usher him back to sleep. Ignoring how your own body shakes as he cries. Promising that he's going to be okay (even though you're still not.) You can only look at Dottore with an exhausted smile before tucking your son in again.

You believe in him, if only for your son.

[lillieslotus]

it’s 6am and im drowning in varadeva thoughts!

prashanth neel really created 2 stalwart hulks w the physical dexterity to turn all of khansaar crimson red, while simultaneously building them to have the SOFTEST heart for each other!

they meet after 25 long years, and require no acclimation WHATSOEVER before displaying physical affection towards each other! not a moment of awkwardness. they melt and shrink w each other without any hesitation. tol big men soo smol 🥺 so attuned to each other’s bodies (!!despite the physical distance that stretched for more than 2 decades!!)

idk man but it’s fr refreshing to see two big men, carrying the capacity for such extreme violence, also embrace each other so intimately and be so vulnerable w each other!

they do not feel any pressure to give in to the macho-man-lacking-emotions persona bc they simply do not give a fuck! they feel a lot and their feelings towards each other are far greater than any possible need to push out an image of a tough, ruthless interior. they missed each other, and everyone will have to endure that!

just boyfriends always caring for each other. varadha looking out to ensure his man has his chili powder (to be loved is to be seen!! bc you remembered that detail for 25 years?) deva making space for him to lay his head, CARESSING him, making sure he’s taken care of in such a vulnerable drunken state, remaining by his side through the night 🥹🥹 he would jump in and fight off the nightmares for varadha if he could!

these are all !!open!! declarations of love, your honor! and my men don’t shy away from it either. they love each other and they will make it everyone’s problem (cue the flashback to narang’s beheading for being audacious enough to touch deva’s varadha in his presence)

[thomatri]

Awkwardly dying hair

Synopsis- Osamu accidentally told Atsumu that you like him so instead of you guys confronting it you both awkwardly avoid each other until Suna mentions Atsumu dire need of a touch up on his hair which you usually do

Paring - Atsumu Miya x reader

Warning- cursing

———————————————————————-

“Alright im gonna start” I say and I see his head nod as he sits on his bathroom floor. I retouch his roots

We sit in awkward silence that’s usually filled with banter,laughing and even a little flirting here and there

I don’t even know how Suna convinced me to do this. Well I actually better start from the beginning and why I’m awkwardly dying Atsumu hair

Flashback Monday

——————-

I scroll on my phone as Atsumu and Osamu argue as usual. Suna basically watching whatever I’m watching

Atsumu says something that makes me and Suna perk up mid argument

“Well atleast I actually pull instead of having a crush who doesn’t like me back” Atsumu says and Osamu looked like he was actually hurt. I was about to step in when Osamu said something that made my heart clench

“Oh you asshole I don’t even fucking know why Y/n likes you. Your a dumbass who can’t even make good comebacks” Osamu says rolling his eyes

….

“Fuck” Osamu says glancing over to me nervously

If you were to ask me in the moment how I felt after he said that. In all honesty I’d tell you I’d want to cry and run away but instead I just sat there stunned

“You okay?” Suna asks and I nod not daring to look at Atsumu

For the rest of the week we ignored each other which was extremely hard because we had every class together plus a assignment we had to do in a class together. I was completely about to stop coming to there practices but Suna told me not to as if he read my mind mentioning he’s still my friend and he wants me to cheer him on

As for Osamu he apologized all week until I finally talked to him on Wednesday

“Im so fucking sorry Y/n I just wanted to hurt him I did not mean to hurt you in the process please forgive me” Osamu says and I sigh

“It’s fine still fucked up and im definitely still mad but I’ll get over it” I say sighing

“Well I mean look on the bright side you can use this opportunity to finally go out with Atsumu” he says with a crooked smile making me glare

“You of all people see how freaking awkward we are” I say feeling like I want to cry again

Im sad,embarrassed, a little happy Osamu saved me a confession, and most of all absolutely fucking terrified I just lost my best friend

“I’m gonna fix this” Osamu says and I nod not really believing him but still hopeful

After school I sit on the bleachers wait for Suna,Osamu,and Atsumu so we can walk home like usually but to my surprise Aran and Kita walk up to me

“You okay?” Kita says bluntly which makes me smile

“Yeah…no” I say about to lie but I remember it’s Kita and Aran the two most green flags ever

“What’s up?” Aran asks

“Uh in short Osamu accidentally told Atsumu I liked him mid argument” I say and Aran looks shocked like Kita looks at me with slight pitying look

“I’m sorry that happened” Kita says and I thank him

“It’s fine I’ll work it out” I say trying to convince them and myself

“Well please do it soon Atsumu been playing pretty bad and I’m pretty sure this is affecting his volleyball performance” Kita says bluntly

“KITA?!” Aran says and I laugh

“Kita Never stop being You” I say with a smile and he returns it, for some reason Kita bluntness made me feel a lot better and as if on cue Suna,Osamu,and Atsumu walk out a little after

As we’re walking to the train station Suna breaks the silence in Suna fashion

“Your hair looks like shit” Suna says to Atsumu

“Gee thanks” he says rolling his eyes

“No I’m serious you need a touch up” Suna says shrugging

I’m confused why right now of all times he’s bringing it up until I catch him smirking at me

Oh that little

———————————

And that’s what brings us to the current moment. He’s washing his hair as I scroll on my phone

“Y/n we need to talk” he says making me almost drop my phone

“Sure” I say and he sits on the floor with me

“Uh I think this past week has been awkward” he says avoiding eye contact

You know you know your ready to get rejected but when the time actually comes trust me your not

“Yeah” I say trying not to let it be known I’m about to burst into tears any second

“I’ve given it some thought, ok let me be honest Osamu gave me thoughts” he says and I snicker

“I’m so sorry for ignoring you, I was scared you hated me for not saying anything in the moment” he says looking down

“Atsumu” I say and he looks at me for the first time in what feels like forever

“Your an overthinking idiot and I thought my overthinking was bad” I say jokingly with a smirk

He beams

“We were all shocked at Osamu idiotic outburst “ I say shrugging

“Does this mean we can stop ignoring each other” he says with a hopeful look

“Yeah… but I can’t ignore my feelings. If you don’t like me back that’s fine and I’ll eventually move on but if there’s a slim chance you do li-“ I say but Atsumu suddenly brings me in a hug

I start to tear up

“I love you so much I’m sorry for everything” he says and I hug him back tightly

“I love you too Atsumu” I say laughing

———————————————————————

Bonus

———————————————

As Suna,Osamu,Atsumu and I eat our lunch Osamu and Atsumu are back to arguing

“Oh please Osamu you can’t say shit you have a fatass crush on Suna” Atsumu says

“YOU BITCH”

“IM JUST RETURNING THE ENERGY”

[miaowmelodie]

You know that post that's been going around where the Justice League plays fuck marry kill with the celebrities without knowing Batman's Bruce?

Imagine this but they never met yet, all their meetings were in zoom calls, and they do the fuck marry kill in a zoom call (ofc Batsy is the kind of person to keep the webcam off even if everyone has it on).

They decide to do the next meeting irl.

Superman is the first to arrive and, of course, recognize Batman as Bruce Wayne on the spot.

Cue flashbacks of how in the fmk game last session he talked about how he would absolutely ravage Bruce Wayne.

He's not the only one, pretty much everyone talked about how they wanted a piece of him, but he's the only one that KNOWS.

In this, the ONLY reason Batman tries to delay his identity reveal as much as possible is because he doesn't want to deal with the awkwardness when the whole JL realize they said they wanted to ride Bruce...in front of him... multiple times.

[wolfoftheblackflames]

Help! I couldn't help myself and wrote more fluff! Enjoy ya Misfits!

Hooves and Wings:

“You have hooves?” A memory had made itself known to Charlie, who smiled fondly at a gift she was preparing.

It had been when she first met Vaggie, and the two became friends, though it was a rocky start with the angel not exactly settling down. (Cue Flashback)

It had been over several days since Charlie had rescued a cute girl by the dumpster. She hadn't noticed the golden blood until it was on the bandage over Vaggie's eye socket. “Hmm..” It made the princess curious but she decided to respect her friend's privacy. “Looks like it's healing nicely, shouldn't be too long now till you're fully recovered.” She smiled at Vaggie moving some of that short hair to the side.

“Still feels weird..” Vaggie muttered as the angel was given fresh bandages and a gauze over it. Charlie was gentle with her and smiled softly. “Yeah? Well I have something for you.” The blonde grinned slightly and took out a small box.

Vaggie tilted her head curiously, and with a nod from Charlie, the angel opened it and stared. “Esto es muy lindo..” (This is really cute.) She smirked a bit seeing the eyepatch in the box. “Thanks Charlie..” She added picking it up to examine it.

Charlie giggled. “I like making stuff so I figured I'd make this for you.” She blushed, scratching her cheek. The two were in their casual attire as Charlie playfully did some cute hand tapping on her own thighs. “There's also something else.” She added with a giggle.

Vaggie blinked and looked back into the box and found what looked to be a beautiful looking red-pink ribbon that matched the stitched in x design on the eyepatch. “You're spoiling me here…” She replied with a soft smirk.

“I couldn't help it.” Charlie gulped and rubbed her neck. “You're like the first friend I've had in a long time, so..”

“Well I'm flattered…” Vaggie smiled warmly, her eye focused on her friend.

Charlie stretched and got off the bed in the guest room. “It's getting late, I'll leave you alone so you can sleep. Good night Vaggie.” She smiled and went to her room.

What happened next surprised the demoness as she blinked hearing a knock. “It's open!” She called from her bed as she was slipping off her shoes. What greeted those ruby eyes was an adorable sight, Vaggie was in a beautiful white nightgown while holding a pillow and blanket. “Vaggie, what brings you here not that I don't mind?”

“You said we're friends right? I'm not used to it but.. Um.. Would you like to do a sleepover?” Vaggie rubbed her neck with a bit of golden hue to her cheeks.

Charlie beamed at the idea as she grinned patting the bed. “I'd love to! Just let me change into my pj's ok?”

Vaggie smiled and nodded though blinked, spying Charlie’s feet. “You have hooves?” She tilted her head.

“Y-yeah, I was about to do some cleaning actually…” Charlie blushed, lightly rubbing her neck. “Are they weird…?” She asked since before she was told they were by her douche of an ex.

“N-no, they're actually kinda cute?” Vaggie replied with an awkward smile. “It just caught me off guard seeing them, that's all…”

Charlie blinked a little surprised with a slight blush but that small crush she had on this cute woman only grew. She smiled fondly at Vaggie. “So what did you have in mind?” She giggled but then pointed to her large shelf of movies. “If it's a movie, feel free to browse my library while I go change.”

Vaggie nodded watching the princess do a light skip to the bathroom. Though once Charlie came back out in her red long sleeve pj shirt and pj pants she blinked seeing Vaggie sitting on the bed by the hoof care kit. “You've done a lot for me already, so may I help you with your hooves?” She asked as Charlie blushed slightly. “Sure..”

The two sat on Charlie’s rather large bed, though the princess fought the urge to squirm as Vaggie tickled her hooves while cleaning them. She found it cute seeing her crush so focused on the job at hand. “Pffft…. Vaggie!” She couldn't hold back a giggle. “That tickles!”

Vaggie blinked hearing Charlie snort, and it earned the princess a small laugh from her new friend. This only made Charlie crush even harder since that laugh was the cutest she's ever heard. Once their giggle fit was done Vaggie finished picking out the last of the debris from those cute red hooves. “There we go.”

Charlie giggled, flexing her hoof toes with a delightful grin. “You kept tickling me, you know?” She smirked, coming closer to Vaggie who blinked. “Time for some payback!”

“Charlie!” The angel couldn't escape the tickle barrage as she was once again a big giggle fit, with the most adorable snort. “Ack! Can't breathe!” She howled with laughter. She managed to catch her breath when Charlie looked satisfied with her tickle attack.

“You have the cutest laugh.” She grinned but blinked seeing Vaggie grumble with a small wince. “Oh sorry, did I hurt you?!” She was alert and attentive as Vaggie gave a small smile.

“No, I'm ok..”

“You sure?” Charlie gave a soft, concerned look. Vaggie giggled a bit and nodded. “Yeah.”

Charlie sighed in relief, she had been worried she aggravated the wounds. “Sorry about that though.”

Vaggie looked a little surprised but then smiled a bit and went to grab a movie. “Oh? A knight’s tale? That's a classic.”

“Yeah I like it cause the protagonist chased his dreams and achieved them.”

“Want to watch it then?” Vaggie smiled holding it up. “Yes please, I'll go grab us some popcorn!”

The two snuggled up under a blanket that was draped over their shoulders with a bowl of popcorn in Charlie's lap. Alongside them were two adorable goat dragon demons Razzle and Dazzle since who could leave those two out. Soon Charlie pushed play on their movie night. (End of flashback)

------

In the present day Charlie was grinning widely while carrying a gift box for her precious angel. “Hey Vags?” She peeked into their shared room.

“Hm?” Vaggie blinked looking back, she was casually cleaning her spear. “Oh hey sweetie.” She flashed a smile before her attention went back to the spear.

Charlie pouted a bit, but soon smirked devilishly. “I guess you're super focused right now, you don't want the gift I got you..” She stated in a playful sing-song-like tone. This caused the angel to look back at her, raising an eyebrow.

“You got something for me?”

“Yep. So could you put the spear down please?”

Vaggie shrugged and did so, she could always sharpen it after. “Alright, you have my attention, love, what is it?”

Charlie grinned and walked over carrying the box with a pretty red bow on top. “Just something I figured you needed babe.” She replied and handed Vaggie the box to open.

“Oh?” Vaggie removed the neatly wrapped bow and looked inside, she blinked, spying the gift. “Do you like it?”

“You got me a wing care kit?” She sounded surprised. Charlie grinned and nodded. “Yep, I figured since you regained your wings, I'd help you take care of them.”

Vaggie just looked at Charlie though smiled gently at her and planted a soft kiss to her wonderful girlfriend’s cheek. “Gracias mi amor..” (Thank you my love)

“I know a little bit about wings since when I was little my dad let me play with his…” Charlie replied and smiled. “Seeing how beautiful yours were, I knew for sure I'd have to get you some care stuff for them.”

Vaggie chuckled. “You spoil me, hon..” She soon brought out those gorgeous gray gradient feathered wings, which made Charlie squee. “I'm glad you like them..” She smiled a bit but then looked a little sad.

Charlie lightly cupped Vaggie's cheek, with the big secret out in the open, the princess knew why her sweet angel made such a face. “I absolutely love them, my cute song bird.” She smiled softly, lightly touching Vaggie's forehead with her own. “It makes me happy they came back because of the love we have.”

Vaggie closed her eyes with a soft smile, though her cheeks became a darker shade of gold hearing that new nickname. “Song bird?”

“Yeah, cause your wings and that beautiful voice you have love.” Charlie giggled nuzzling her. She peppered Vaggie's face and neck with kisses earning more giggles from her beautiful girlfriend. “Charlie stop, that tickles!”

The two remained close for a bit until Vaggie reluctantly pulled away. “You're such a goof..” She wiped a stray tear from her eye. “Go ahead.” Vaggie turned and stretched those wings out for Charlie while moving that long silvery hair away to expose more of the feathers and her back.

“Your goof.” The princess grinned and lightly started to run her fingers along the feathers. “Quick question?”

“Hm?”

“Does it get like… Bedroom-ish? Sorry but I'm curious.”

Vaggie rubbed her chin, though shuddered a bit when Charlie ran her fingers through the feathers near the base. “Yeah?”

“Oh.. Hehe..” Charlie had a cute grin. “OK so only in the bedroom then..” She couldn't help it as her tail popped out and started wagging a bit.

Vaggie noticed and gave a playful smirk. “You perv..” She teased making the hellborn turn red with blush.

Charlie decided to get Vaggie back for making her flustered with a soft kiss to the old scarring on her songbird's back. With both equally a blushing mess the two soon burst into laughter. Vaggie smiled fondly as she felt Charlie being careful with her wings, giving each feather a soft comb through and lightly taking out any damaged ones. “Ooo!” Charlie grinned, having some old feathers in her hands. “I kinda wanna turn these into stuffing for pillows…”

Vaggie snorted. “Of course you'd say that..” She chuckled, shaking her head. “What having a pillow that smells like you would be nice?” This only earned more laughter from Vaggie who held her stomach.

Charlie grinned, hearing that laugh she loved so much. She tried to continue, but Vaggie was in a cute giggle fit. “Vaggie, if you keep moving, I can't apply the oil!”

“Sorry, but the thought of you cuddling a pillow stuffed with my feathers is too cute..”

Charlie pouted but rolled her eyes smiling waiting for Vaggie to settle down. “That's the coverts done.” She stated making Vaggie look at her.

“Since when did you know wing terminology babe?”

“Uh, I.. Well I looked up how to care for wings beforehand…”

Vaggie blinked but smiled. “You planned this for a while huh?”

Charlie nodded softly, she smiled cutely as her fingers gently combed through the tertiary feathers. “Yeah… You always work so hard to take care of me and the hotel. I wanted to do the same back..”

“You do though..” Vaggie looked back and smiled.

“How so?” Charlie blinked as she couldn't help but be curious.

Vaggie thought for a moment then smiled. “You gave me a place to call home when I was torn away from Heaven..” She stated fidgeting a bit. “I'm not proud of who I was, I always felt so guilty about killing your people Charlie…” Charlie blinked but remained quiet as she went to the secondary feathers next. “Being an Exorcist, it was strange but I had a place there, even if the praises sent shivers down my spine.”

Charlie blinked but soon brought her tail to lightly hold Vaggie's wrist while her fingers carefully aligned those feathers. “Honestly I never really had many friends until I met you.” The angel continued finding comfort in the small gesture. “I had one job, to be a murderous killing machine..”

“Vaggie…” Charlie's heart ached for her girlfriend. Sure the secret did hurt her, but she gave a soft look. “You were scared to tell me weren't you? You basically didn't bother to correct me when I thought you were a sinner..”

“Yeah…”

Charlie dipped her head down and nuzzled into Vaggie's hair giving her girlfriend a soft kiss on top. “What happened to you then?”

Vaggie blinked but sighed. “I don't exactly like talking about it..” She muttered, looking away. “But I'll try..”

“Vaggie, you don't really have to say anything..” Charlie replied lightly, reaching over to take her hand.

“I do hon, it'll eat away at me if I don't.”

“But..”

Vaggie gave that hand a gentle squeeze. “One request please…” She sounded a little hesitant. “Anything love?”

“I like your hands… Could you keep roaming them on my wings, please? It relaxes me..”

Charlie nodded and continued her work. She looked worried at how nervous Vaggie looked. Her mind drifted back to her once, saying, “If I can't help you, then what's the point of me?” The princess gave another comforting kiss to her songbird's wing, this time making the angel relax more.

“You remember how we met, babe?” Vaggie's gaze drifted to a photo of the two together. “I do, it was horrible, you were so hurt…”

Vaggie steeled herself and took a soft breath. “I came down from heaven that day, and the guilt took over when I chased a child sinner to an alley… I let them go.” She stated as Charlie gasped.

The angel raised her hand to stop Charlie from speaking. “You won't like the next part..” She looked at her loving princess. “Do you… Still want to hear it?”

“Yes…” Charlie gave her a soft gaze. She loved Vaggie more than anything, even when the secret was revealed and she was hurting, Charlie didn't deny that deep in her heart, it already belonged to this wonderful person in front of her, her talk with Rosie reassured it tenfold.

Vaggie blinked, seeing that loving kind glint in those ruby eyes. She smiled softly, though her old wounds began to ache at the mention of the next part. “Okay…” Vaggie took a soft breath. “Next thing I knew, someone was behind me, and with much brutality, my eye was taken..”

Vaggie felt the heat from Charlie's demonic form, yet continued knowing it would piss off her beloved even more. “I was in shock and fell to my knees, and in a quick second I saw who it was, someone who I thought was a friend, but no she was petty and always had it out for me.” Venom dripped from her words as Vaggie gritted her teeth. “Lute, Adam's right hand bitch.”

Charlie stared and growled. “And she also ripped off your wings?! All because you spared a child?!” She moved her hands back and dug her claws into her own palms.

Vaggie looked at Charlie and blinked seeing those beautiful hands starting to drip blood. “Hon..” She gently took those hands. “I plan to settle the score next time I see that asshole.” She smirked looking determined.

Charlie looked at her with deep demonic red eyes. “Yeah, and I know you'll kick her ass. But love, we stick together ok?” She loosened her hands letting Vaggie hold them. “I don't want you getting hurt anymore.”

“Hey..” Vaggie lifted those hands up and kissed the palms. “I don't plan on dying in the battle with heaven, babe.” She then got up and picked up her spear. Charlie blinked, still fully demonic as she saw her beautiful angel do a small kneel, which reminded her of the knight from one of her favorite movies. “O-oh!” Charlie blinked, seeing her beloved take her hand and kiss the knuckles. “Sorry but I also plan to protect my home with everything I've got as well.”

Charlie couldn't help but swoon at Vaggie, who looked incredibly dashing right now. “Geez, someone's feeling theatrical today, I guess I rubbed off on you.” She teased but smiled warmly gently pulling Vaggie up from her kneeling. “You even remembered our first sleepover movie.”

Vaggie blushed but smiled at Charlie, though it was replaced with a cheeky grin as she set down her spear again. “Yeah, but I also remember this too.” Her deft hands came to Charlie’s sides and easily tickled her princess, sending the demoness into a laughing fit. “Nooo!”

This caused Charlie to revert back and whine as she howled with laughter. “Revenge.” Vaggie grinned as she let up the tickle barrage when Charlie tapped out. “Meanie…”

“You love it though.”

“True, now we have a big day of training tomorrow, shall we go to sleep?”

“Don't forget your hooves, hon..” Vaggie stated with a soft smile. “Oh, it's been so busy I almost forgot, thanks love.” Charlie flashed a cute grin. She then rewarded Vaggie with a loving kiss to the cheek.

“Go you goof…” Vaggie playfully shooed her away as Charlie giggled. The two then started their nightly routine, it was one of the last peaceful moments they were able to share before the big battle with Heaven.

[ritornello]

since i can't answer myself so well, what would you say are asada nemui's distinctive storytelling traits and on a personal matter if you'd like what makes you like her stories? not so much tropes but running themes, art and such. i hope it's not too heavy of a question and thanks ^_^

Hi, this is a great question. For anyone with the patience to read all this I think it might help explain what makes Asada Nemui such an intriguing manga artist. (especially without the "it's because X reminded me of Y! - type analysis that occurs very frequently in english fandom communities)

There's a lot of images in this post, but it's not too spoiler-ish.

Comments about art

The first aspect of Asada's art I would want to praise endlessly are the page layouts. Dear, My God was one of the first stories I read by her and the flow of the panels is what really stuck out to me. I like using this sequence of pages as an example - can you guess what's going on?

I removed all of the dialogue and SFX, and it's so well laid out that the sight-to-panel direction, background design and expressions of the characters are enough to understand what's happening. It almost feels like you're looking at a scene from a movie or storyboard.

Text version:

While reading The Sound of the Waves, a page describing the plot of a writer's story more or less summarizes Asada's layout style. It generally begins with an establishing shot before laying out the rest of the scene, which with a longer story may take a few more pages to conclude.

The divisions of pages seems to average around four to seven panels, and pages with three or fewer panels show up very sparingly - likely saved for more impactful scenes.

(I'll just take a second here to add how much I love that she generally sticks to one shade of screentone. Limiting the palette to just three values is a great way to create shadows and dramatic lighting effects!)

Asada's direction is very focused on telling a story - there is always some type of visual cue that the scene is actively present and happening in front of us, the readers. I like this continuity compared to a series that might have excessive headshots or pages of flashbacks during a scene with a lot of action.

One of my favorite scenes in Sleeping Dead is in the second volume, when Mamiya is out in his van and attempting to construct a conversation. It fills an entire page, but his entire monologue could have been condensed into one "thinking" panel.

It doesn't necessarily look bad like if it were like this, but Asada intentionally uses the entire page to emphasize Mamiya's expressions, his awkwardness as he slowly loses confidence in himself. (Plus he's actively driving and looking at the road.) I like that this is a very private scene that reveals the inner character he tries to hide during the majority of the first volume.

I also like that she understands the importance of a readable layout enough to redraw areas that might be confusing to look at, like this one from the magazine version of Sleeping Dead (left side) :

In the last panel it's difficult to tell who's talking, because there are four detached bubbles and you can't see Sada or Mamiya. I wasn't sure if Sada was talking in the first bubble since it's directly below him, but the second seemed like Mamiya since it's drawn so awkwardly. For the paperback release she added a line to connect the two bubbles - obviously it's Mamiya saying both and becoming nervous as he brings up the possibility of having more sexual activities with Sada.

If you noticed the changes in the other panels of that page it also goes into her tendency to do redraws. Some of them look quite different after they've been changed - from the series I've read I noticed major redrawing for Dear, My God, the older short stories republished in Ai, Sei, and even Takatora and the Omegas (though Asada credited changes in that one to the fact that she's now working 100% digitally).

My opinion for these is kind of mixed, sometimes they do look better and sometimes I prefer her original style. This one from Dean My Love that appears in Ai, Sei is a crime lol.

There was a two-volume manga called Mangaka Gohan Nishi (Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner and Comic Artists) published in 2015, and it has one page comics by mangaka discussing food they eat. Asada appears in the second volume and her page mentions watching movies.

(basically it's about being bad at / injured by stovetop cooking so she prefers the safety of the microwave. But in the unidentified movie the characters make an explosive device with a microwave…)

I would undoubtedly say films are a large influence to her, and I've caught some parallels/references in her work, but it's kind of a disservice to only point out similarities in characters or genre tropes rather than her skill as an artist and storyteller.

During the last couple years Asada's also been fairly active on Twitter where she shares concept art and extra comics that add more to what she was limited to write in the published works.

For Takatora she's even been live-streamed the planning and inking of its (as of now) upcoming chapter on Pixiv Sketch. The series already has over two dozen pages of extra content judging by a numbered page she shared on Twitter.

Overall I appreciate that on top of having a high output she seems to care a lot about the quality of content her readers are getting. Not every artist makes redraws for their series on top of doing multiple serializations and lots of fanart/doujin content.

(And she has made a lot of fanart and doujinshi. For 10+ years.)

Comments about storytelling

I'm probably going to sound more rambly here, because I'm not a writer or a critic. Regardless of which series I enjoyed or disliked, I think most of them have an element of pushing boundaries in BL manga.

As one Japanese reviewer said when commenting about Sleeping Dead - Asada's manga are the type you want to recommend anyone to read...except you can't.

I think it goes without saying that the focus of sex in her manga can be a barrier, but there is enough range in her work that a reader (with some help) would be able to find a story with an amount of sexual content they'd be comfortable with. I could definitely see Asada working on more non-BL titles like The Swerve, Yoi and A Friend's Funeral, but to be blunt...she seems to really enjoy drawing men having sex.

Boundary-pushing can be apparent in most of her manga, especially when it starts as early as the first chapter. In the least extreme variation, her titles like Sleeping Dead and Call feature somewhat jarring love interests - middle-aged, sexually awkward men that are unconventionally designed compared to other BL love interests.

When the second volume of Sleeping Dead was nominated a Chil-Chil award for its story, Asada shared this illustration of Mamiya in a boxing ring. I love to imagine it as him squaring off with the much more handsome and less follicly-challenged ukes of the other nominated series.

If you check out her earlier series there are a few subjects considered taboo to look at. Sexual violence occurs pretty frequently. Surprisingly (or not, if you've been around long enough), it's not even rape that's considered risky subject matter in BL magazines.

According to a recent interview with Chil-Chil, Asada originally planned to publish Takatora and the Omegas with a different publisher (my guess is Shodensha, since they serialized My Little Inferno in OnBlue), but its inclusion of sexual health topics was considered too extreme:

[Interview translation credit goes to Ikari of Bottom of the Sea Scans, which currently scanlates Takatora and the Omegas.]

Thanks to Canna being willing to publish her more explicit story ideas, we might be able to see how far she planned to go with Takatora. The published chapters have already broached subjects including hysterectomies, abortion and sexual autonomy. I think this situation with Takatora has parallels to the struggles female shoujo mangaka faced in the early decades of manga publishing for girls.

The magazine Canna tends to serialize BL stories that include elements of science fiction and fantasy, which I think has made it a place where artists like Asada can have less restriction in their storytelling.

But...I don't want to praise Asada just for tackling difficult topics. Going back to the comments about page design, there's a huge focus on dialogue. Characters are frequently conversing and making eye contact with each other. She's amazing at writing characters with unlikable traits that are still enjoyable to read about, or are paired with a partner that helps balance out, or even tolerates their faults.

I think it can be easy to drop a series if it has unlikable characters, but she tends to put them in situations that question their ideologies, and we get to see how they change over the course of the story. Even Asada commented that she's not a huge fan of how the protagonist of Takatora and the Omegas acts:

Takatora could wind up being one of the most extreme examples of an unlikable protagonist, but we'll get to see if his bigoted views are changed as he's challenged by his peers, and as he offers his own support to solve their troubles.

At this point I totally got lost in the Takatora sauce, but other little aspects I love about her manga are the humorous moments, the sometimes getting too over-her-head writing, and endings that can be unexpectedly gut-punching yet written in a way that's the most grounded in reality. And in Sleeping Dead's case, immediately followed by a whiplash of silly extras.

I hope that with Takatora and Yoi - which seemed to have planned out for a while - Asada can continue to do her own thing, because I think it's a much better creative output to make whatever the hell you want instead of conforming to the preferences of the publishers.

In conclusion:

[wolf-feathers12]

An idea

Angron as sanguinius's bodyguard/protector!au

( I have very limited knowledge of the books/am still slowing making my way though the warhammer lore and most of my understanding comes from fandom interactions and this is very crackish indulgent idea that probs doesn't make too much sense if you apply some logic to it but hush ಥ_ಥ)

Angron but they find a way to get rid of his nails but he's still very angry ect >:O

Him and sanguinius interact and sang suggests therapy ala blood angel style. Cue a montage of him slowing being shown how to paint, draw and appreciate the fine arts ect. Plus he starts to really bond with sang. (Aparently depending on who u ask sanguinius might have started out as a slave?? So even more sorta bonding over trama type thing? Also i love sanguinius whump/hurt/comfort so yeah boi)

Angron starts spending more and more time with the angel and consequently finds himself near sanguinius when he wakes up screaming and sang comforts him. Maybe sanguinius expirenceing his own nightmares becaue of his visions and angron becoming less and less awkward when he pets his hair and tells him its ok that it was just a dream.

Regardless they both become really close (maybe even ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) close if that's what Ur into hehehe). sanguinius is one of the first people to show him any sort of kindness or understanding appart from his brothers and sisters. He still hates the emperor but he'll endure it if it means he gets to be with his brother.

Cue the horus heresy.

Everything is more or less the sameish with angron hesitating a little to join horus but his hatred for the emperor wins.

(I know that sanguinius and angron fight but er maybe they don't in this au?? Idk just skip to the fight on the vengeful spirit)

Sanguinius is completely exhausted and can barely keep himself upright when he confronts horus but confront him he does .

This is it. This is where he dies.

But just before horus deals the killing blow angron bursts into the room.

Seeing the person who has helped him become something more then a monster, more then his nails, who showed him how to correctly load paint onto a brush, how to read music, who's been there for him in the middle of the night, whose held him when the cries of his fellow slaves grew too loud being literally tortured to death, body broken (flashback to one of his gladiator friends being beaten to death maybe?) Angron realises where his true loyalties lie.

Horus is confused.

"You would protect him even though he is loyal to the same man who let your people die? You serve him even now by keeping the angel alive."

"The only emperor I serve is at my feet now."

"You would defend and obey a broken shell of a man?"

With determination in his eyes, clutching his weapon he looks horus straight in the eyes.

"To my last breath."

Shout out to @heuldoch7b for their post

https://www.tumblr.com/heuldoch7b/762780929429323776/would-your-no-nails-au-angron-look-any-different?source=share

That inspired this au :O

[chaifootsteps]

Rewrite of the Seeing Stars episode :

Instead of the Episode kicking off on Stolas' side of the story, have it start on Blitz and Loona's argument. Have Blitz wait a few hours before looking for her after she stormed off only to find out Loona had packed her stuff and left their home. Have him worry and look for clues before realising the Grimoire was also gone. He doesn't hesitate, he knows he'd be in big trouble and the whole situation would be more awkward after what went down at Asmodeus but he doesn't care, and calls Stolas to ask for his help. Stolas doesn't answer his phone right away which was strange but Blitz chalked it up to what went down a few days prior. Stolas picks up after a few rings

"Blitz, I don't know what you're calling me for but you have no idea how much this came at the right time. There's a dozen of things I want to tell you, I know I have to tell you, but right now I need your help. Octavia, my daughter... I think she ran away from our home. I need you and your team to cover more ground than I could in Hell to find her. I think she went to an event, something big happening today. I don't know where but it's at nighttime and... She's gonna stay out all alone that late. Who knows the number of people who'd try harming her for being my daughter... Loo Loo Land was a close call on more than one time and she doesn't have half of my magic powers-..."

Blitz relates to Stolas' predicament and reassures him that he'll send M & M's to check on the biggest teen hot spots in Hell for him. They got a big contact list from all the places Loona often started brawls at... He then drops a bomb on Stolas about the Grimoire and how he thinks Loonie used it to head to Earth and how he needs to find his daughter before anything bad happens to her too. Stolas agrees to help Blitz because, the sooner his hellhound daughter is found, the more people could help find his daughter. Loona's sense of smell could help retrace Via's steps ! (He'll bring a few of her belongings with them on their trip to Earth so she'll start right away once they find her!)

They make their trip to Earth and land in Los Angeles where they get mistaken for some human super stars. Blitz is about to explain that this is a big misunderstanding to these folks when Stolas gets a genius idea : If they perform together well enough, they could use the TV broadcast to send a message to Loona, convince her to return back home and get her to meet somewhere so they'll all be able to go back to Hell. Blitz has left his acting career way behind him but for the sake of Loona, he'd have another go at it, no questions asked. It was a bit hard at the start but he found his footing again and gives some pieces of advice to Stolas while at it. They perform well enough but Stolas suddenly gets very distracted during break time and nearly blows their cover... It's because during break time an announcement was made for tonight's big event : Meteor shower. While he rummaged through the few things he brought with him from Via's room, he took out the calendar and finally understood that the date circled was tied to an event not in Hell but on Earth. (Cue to the Stolas and Via flashback from the start of the canon episode here)

Their daughters were actually together on Earth.

So how did things go on Octavia and Loona's side of the plot this whole time in this rewrite ? Octavia couldn't really go around Hell as a Goatia so she was disguising herself as a normal hellborn all the way to I M P to get the Grimoire from there and was basically using that fake identity when she crossed paths with Loona. She knew how to use the Grimoire better than her and decided to make a deal with her : They go to Earth together and in exchange, she'll show her a cool place there... Loona isn't convinced. Octavia pulls out a wad of cash from her shadow hammer space and says the expenses will be all on her. Loona is convinced.

They genuinely have a good time together in their girls' day out, discovering Los Angeles, going on restaurants but eventually Blitz and Stolas' broadcast reaches them and while Loona's surprised, Octavia runs off to the Observatory before Loona notices her being gone... Loona finds her and Via starts off by apologising for lying to her this whole time. She then explains her situation with her family and why she ran away. Loona does the same. Octavia adds that she left before Stolas could finish his apology because she learnt his routine. He pretends to care about her, messes up big time or doesn't notice her discomfort, goes after her when she runs away and apologises... Only to do this all over again. At this point she knows he just apologises to feel better about himself without realizing what he needs to apologize for or knowing what wrong he did to her. "It's the same thing here : He really doesn't know what he did wrong. He just apologised for show... Heh. Literally on live TV." ... But Loona tells her it's not the case this time. She knew she'd find her at the Observatory because Stolas said he'd join her there himself. "High ground, no trees, little to no city lights, ... All for the most perfect view."

Blitz and Stolas reach the Observatory on time and while Stolas and Octavia are enjoying the meteor shower on the dome in silence, Blitz and Loona have a chat. Blitz tries to apologize but Loona quickly changes the subject to his performance in the sitcom they used for the broadcast. She is... Complimenting him. He is flustered and deeply touched to hear these words and especially from his daughter. She then reveals something to him : She always wanted to be an actress. Sure it's not a job for hellhounds but it has always been something she wanted to do herself.

This is Loona's way of opening up to Blitz after their fight earlier and her rather standoffish, closed off attitude and why she hates working a desk job (even if IMP is Blitz's dream business come true), really seeming to enjoy herself the most when she is pretending to be someone else, like for the contract kills at Verosika's concert.

The episode ends with Via and Stolas fulling their promise for a dream they share together and on Blitz and Loonie's side, they are making their own promises for the future and are each building their own dreams. The meteor shower seals the new promises and the wishes that go with it

Thank you for the beautiful rewrite. Helluva Boss if it had character bonding and empathy in it.

[babydollmarauders]

TEENAGER IN LOVE — TREVOR ZEGRAS

trevor zegras x fem! hughes!reader

pt. 2

request: “hi! can i request something with trevor zegras with the prompts 20 and 23 please? thanks sm!! 💗”

20. “can we stay like this forever?”

23. “sleep over? please?”

summary: in which y/n reminisces on how her and Trevor started their secret relationship.

notes: i changed up prompt 23 a little bit to make it fit better, i hope that’s okay!

i was listening to Teenager in Love by Madison Beer quite a bit while writing this so…

Trevor and y/n are in an established relationship during the first little “present” scene.

reader is 20 in the present and 19 in the flashback.

**PRESENT**

i’ve never felt comfortable on planes. it doesn’t matter where i’m sat or what i’m wearing or who i’m with, i don’t like planes. my family knows this, my friends know this, anyone who will listen to me talk knows this, my brother however, simply does not care. and now i’m stuck on the Devils charter plane, not even sat next to Jack because he’s busy sat next to Dougie, talking about some video game they both play. so i’m left beside Jesper Bratt, who’s already asleep after only being in the air for maybe half an hour.

i didn’t intend to even tag along on this road game to California, but i moved in with Jack a couple months ago and he apparently didn’t trust me to stay in New Jersey by myself, citing his reasoning as “i don’t want any chance of you having boys in this apartment.” but the joke is on him, because he’s really just providing me with a trip to see the only guy he should be remotely worried about, Trevor.

as the only girl, growing up with three brothers, they’ve always been a bit overprotective. and by a bit, i mean a lot. even Luke, who’s a year younger than me, has had his fair share of threatening guys “in the name of my safety.” all of their friends have gotten the “if you even so much as look at my sister, i’ll make sure you never see anything again” spiel, and for a good nineteen years, their friends respected that. until Jack’s best friend, Trevor, and i were left alone for a night at the lake house last summer.

**FLASHBACK**

-

all the guys have left for a party down the road, they even took Luke along with them for his first party as an eighteen year old, and i’m looking forward to a quiet night of watching romcom’s on the couch with no judgment and no one complaining that “that would never happen in real life!”

decked out in one of Quinn’s oversized Canucks shirts, pajama shorts, and some fuzzy socks; i’m lounged on the couch, wrapped in a fuzzy blanket burrito. i’m just about to hit play on a movie on netflix when the front door opens and shuts and i hear footsteps getting closer to the living room. averting my gaze from the tv, i look over in time to see Trevor freeze in the doorway to the living room, and i become acutely aware of my current state of no makeup and probably looking like a dork with my blanket draped over the top of my head.

i’ve never had a problem acting normal around any of my brothers’ friends. usually, they’re all just like extended family, unwanted additional older brothers. except Trevor. when Jack first brought him home during their USNTDP days, i immediately got a schoolgirl crush. and unlike usual crushes, it’s only gotten worse with time. luckily, Quinn and Jack have never seemed to notice my awkward and shy behavior when Trevor is around, but Luke has and he’s made it his mission to send me scowls and snicker at my misfortune whenever it happens.

“oh hey.” he cocks his head in one those ‘sup’ nods and takes a glance towards the tv screen before fixing his gaze back on me.

“hey. what are you doing back already? are the others coming back too? i can go back into my room. i don’t wanna be a bother or anything.” cue the embarrassing rambles.

“nah, it’s just me. feeling kinda homesick, i don’t really wanna be at a party tonight.” he shrugs his shoulder and sits on the arm of the couch next to me. “whatcha watching?”

“oh, i was just gonna watch a romcom, but it’s fine, i can watch it in my room. you can have the tv if you want.” i have to crane my neck some to look up at him from my spot. “i can leave you alone.”

i start to stand up, still wrapped in my blanket burrito when Trevor grabs the back of the blanket and tugs me back down onto the couch. he stands and walks in front of me before taking a spot on the cushion next to me.

“so, what romcom are we watching?” he asks, kicking his legs up on the coffee table in front of us.

“you don’t have to watch it. we can watch something else, if you want.”

trevor’s only answer comes in actions, grabbing the remote from my hands and clicking play on the movie. i don’t bother to fight him anymore, allowing myself to get sucked into the movie instead.

i’m sat rigid throughout the entire movie, keeping aware of my limbs, not letting any stray too far towards the cushion beside me. and about halfway through the movie i remember how weird i must look and move the blanket onto my lap instead of wrapped around me. i can barely focus on anything other than the fact that Trevor is sitting next to me. the fact that i can smell his sandalwood cologne. that if i were to lay my hand next to me, i would almost be touching him.

once the movie ends, i expect him to put on something for himself or even just go to his room, but instead he turns to look at me.

“you okay?” he asks. my eyes widen slightly before i catch myself and revert them back to normal.

“yeah, why?” i try to sound calm, but my voice is slightly shaky, and i’m just hoping he didn’t notice.

“you seem uncomfortable. did i make you uncomfortable? did i do something?” i shake my head a little too violently for someone who’s supposed to be calm.

“no! i’m not uncomfortable! why would you think that? i’m cool.”

oh my god people who are cool do not say ‘i’m cool’, what is wrong with me? he chuckles and i can’t help the small smile that breaks out on my face at the sound.

“i was just checking.” he puts his hands up in a surrendering gesture. “we should play a game.”

“what game did you have in mind?”

“truth or dare? i don’t know, i’m just bored.”

“sure.” i have a feeling this will not end great for me, but i’m not about to let him know that.

“okay. truth or dare?” we turn and sit criss-cross on the couch, facing each other properly as i weigh my options.

“truth.” safest option. he takes a second to think about his question.

“okay, i got one. does it ever annoy you, how overprotective your brothers can be?”

“oh yeah. one hundred percent. they have all these rules for me; don’t drink unless we’re with you, no dating until you’re 30, don’t leave the house unless you tell us where you’re going, don’t crush on any of our friends. it’s overwhelming sometimes. and i can never stick up for myself because they’re so quick to hurt whoever hurts me, which is nice, yes, but it’s definitely taken a toll on how i present myself. it’s made me shy and my friends say i can be a crybaby sometimes because i’ve never had to handle problems on my own. like, don’t get me wrong, i’m grateful for my brothers, they’re always there for me, but sometimes it’s just too much. ya know?”

he nods, genuinely seeming interested in what i had to say, and my heart flutters.

“i can’t say i understand because i’m the older brother in my family, but i can imagine it can be difficult sometimes.”

“anyways, truth or dare?” he ponders his options before choosing dare. “i dare you to text the guys and tell them you just watched a romcom. and you CAN’T say it was with me.”

he groans and lets his head drop back for a few seconds before pulling his phone out of his pocket and typing for a minute. turning the screen so i can see what he just wrote, he lets me press the send button.

To: Jack-Attack, Huggy Bear, Moosey Hughes

just watched this great romcom on netflix called Set It Up. you guys should watch it. 10/10

i let my own head drop back in laughter and let out an ugly cackle.

“truth or dare? you evil little witch” his mocking insult rolls straight off my back when i see the smile on his face.

“truth again.” i shrug when he raises an eyebrow at my safe choice.

“have you ever broken any of your brothers rules?” my mind short circuits. there’s only one rule i’ve broken, and that’s by liking him. do i admit that? or do i just say no? technically, he didn’t say i have to say which rule i’ve broken, so-

“yes. but you can’t tell them that i have! it has to be our secret! they’d pester me to no end until they found out which one i broke!”

“okay, our secret. promise.” he holds his pinky out, waiting for me to link it with my own. a pinky swear. how adorable. fuck. i bring my own hand up, linking my pinky with his before breaking away and setting my hand back in my lap.

“truth or dare?” i ask.

“truth.” i take a few seconds to think of a question. how is this harder to think of than coming up with a dare?

“what’s your favorite part about the off season?” it’s a relatively boring question, but the first one i thought of.

“oh that’s easy. coming here. i love spending time with you guys.” more heart flutters, i may need to get that checked out. “truth or dare?”

“don’t kill me; truth.” i joke and he laughs again.

“i should’ve expected that, shouldn’t i? alright, if you wanna keep doing truth, i’m just gonna dig deeper and deeper until you tell me your darkest secret, y/n. which rule did you break?” my stomach drops. can i forfeit? can i plead the fifth? is that a thing that you can do in truth or dare? i wouldn’t know, this is my first time playing. i think i’m just gonna have to say it. it’s not like he’ll ever know it’s him.

“you can’t tell them! remember that!” i remind him before admitting- “having a crush on one of their friends.”

his jaw drops and he lets out a completely fake gasp.

“that is not what i was expecting. i expected you to say the drinking rule or the telling them where you go rule. how scandalous, y/n! a forbidden romance!” his jokes make me feel slightly better, at least he’s not judging me.

“yeah, yeah! it’s not like i’m dating the guy.” i defend myself. “truth or dare, Zegras?”

“dare, i’m feeling adventurous.”

“i dare you to go in Jacks room and steal my book back for me. he took it away from me because he said reading was boring and this trip isn’t allowed to be boring.” he bursts out in laughter, barely able to form words for a few minutes before he speaks again.

“oh you’ve got me doing your dirty work for you! i respect it!” he leaps up from the couch and within a couple minutes he’s back on the couch, my book in his hand. he tosses it on my lap and throws a wink my way. “one book for the lady.”

“my sanity thanks you. i can’t start another book until i’ve finished this one and it was killing me slowly.”

“truth or dare? although, i don’t know why i bother asking at this point.” i roll my eyes at his sarcasm and decide to throw him a curveball. mostly for myself though because i have a feeling i know what his next question would be if i pick truth.

“dare.” he grins, and for a second i regret my choice.

“i dare you to tell me which friend you were or are crushing on. c’mon, i can keep your secret.” he asked it anyways. what the hell. i don’t think you can do that. can you do that?

“that’s basically a truth! i picked dare! that’s cheating!”

“it is not!” now it’s his turn to defend himself. “i DARED you to tell me! i promise i won’t judge you, or laugh, or tell your brothers!”

oh god, i’m gonna have to tell him, aren’t i? i mean, i could always just say one of the other guys. i could say Alex, he’s always been the sweetest to me, so i’m sure Trevor would believe it. but then he might say something. it’s not that i wouldn’t trust him to keep it a secret if i say someone else, but Trevor has a big mouth, and sometimes he talks without thinking. he could slip up. so it’s smarter not to lie, to avoid any trouble or confusion. so i close my eyes and count to ten before i say it. here goes nothing.

“you.” i still don’t open my eyes. too afraid of his reaction. but now he’s quiet and i don’t like the silence. oh god, is he disgusted? is he trying trying to figure out how to let me down gently? “don’t get weird. you don’t have to say anything. you can just forget you heard that. pretend you didn’t hear any-“

i’m cut off by his mouth crashing down onto mine. i freeze, overthinking everything, before eventually melting into the kiss. moving my lips against his. it’s slow and sweet, and not at all the reaction i was expecting from him. we pull apart and i allow my eyes to flutter back open, watching his face as he slowly breathes in and out. he catches my eye and a wide grin spreads across his face.

“i’ve wanted to do that since high school.” his hands grip my hips and i let him pull me onto his lap, straddling him. butterflies are flying around in my stomach and my heart is pounding against my chest, but i let my body relax into his.

“really?”

“yeah.” he confirms, leaning his forehead against my own. “the first time Jack had me over to your house, he gave this whole lecture about how you were off limits. and i thought ‘no problem.’ but then i saw you, and i got to know you, and it turned out to be a big problem. you’re so beautiful, and then you turned to be this sweet, funny, amazing girl. and god, i could not get you out of my head. i still can’t.”

this time it’s my turn to plant a kiss on his lips, this one a chaste peck. i slouch down and lay my head on his chest, wrapping my arms around his waist.

“can we stay like this forever?” i ask, but before he can answer, his phone buzzes on the cushion beside us, and he picks it up and curses.

“Jack just texted to say they’ll be home soon. he said Cole is wasted and they need to put him to bed.” i pull back and nod my head, moving to get off him. but he wraps his arms around my middle and holds us chest-to-chest. “do you want me to tell him you’re asleep? you can come in my room. we can just cuddle, nothing else necessary. but i just got you, and now i just wanna hold you.”

i smile and nod again, silently saying a thank you to whatever higher entity above granted me such luck as to have him like me back.

“yeah, i’d like that.” we get off the couch and make our way to his room, remembering to turn the tv off on our way out of the living room. he opens the door to his room and allows me to enter first before he comes in.

“you can go ahead and lay down, i’m just gonna change into some sweats first.” he walks over to his opened suitcase on the floor and pulls out a pair of grey sweatpants and a t-shirt before leaving the room, going into the bathroom across the hall. i do as he says and lay down on his bed, on my side facing the door.

it’s not but a moment after he gets back into the room and shuts the door, that we hear the front door of the house open and shut, followed by multiple pairs of footsteps and some mumbling.

“jesus Cole, you could help me out here and actually move your feet.” i can hear Quinn say as he passes by Trevor’s door, i’m assuming helping Cole to his room. Trevor snickers and comes over to the bed, clicking off the lamp before laying down behind me and putting his arm around my middle, pulling me close against him. after about 15 minutes i can feel his breath start to even out, and i look over my shoulder to see his eyes fluttering open and shut, obviously having trouble staying awake.

“you can go to sleep, Trev. i’ll go to my room once i know they’re all in theirs.” i whisper.

“no. sleep over here? please? i wanna hold you tonight.” his voice is soft and low so we don’t get caught, but also laced with sleepiness. i shake my head.

“what if one of them finds us in the morning? you know how my brothers will react.” at my words, he pulls his phone out of his sweatpants pocket and taps a few times before leaning over me and plugging it in on the nightstand.

“there. i set an alarm for 7am. you know the guys won’t even wake up before 10, so that gives us plenty of time for you to go back to your room before they can catch us.” i sigh and snuggle back into him.

“alright. i’ll sleep in here.” he plants a kiss on an exposed spot between my neck and shoulder and i can feel his smile on my skin.

[sweetpastillas]

tom & elliot's role swap video is interesting to me because . what if luther and viktor Did switch some places in s4?

this would likely include [this is an au idea]:

a down-on his-luck luther, shifting through various jobs

in hindsight i just want more depth back for him

in this au, sloane is fully dead via reginald incompletely programming the universe & allison pressing the button early. let's visualize all the flashback montages we should have gotten over their 6 years, and insert in one where he finds her grave.

(this would cut to ben finding this out in a phone call, scowling with a hint of mourning, before turning away to greet more of his crypto buddies)

it says something like "sacrificed her life saving people from the fire of the hotel obsidian [or something heroic]."

he has no picture of her

it's not a timeline where he's fucked up, like the unshaven floorcrying on the moon or s1's furry rave breakdown. he's numb. happy to go to family events, not as stoic as s1, but numb every once in a while

he still picks up ben from prison. hugs him too tight – ben complains once.

he actually squeezes more often in his hugs. death is too real. klaus gets it but still panics for closeness and germs as they meet at the party

viktor, on the other hand, is as neutral as he's always been. happy without his powers, able to take deep breaths dealing with annoying regulars at the bar without rattling all the bottles on his shelves

he's happy to be part of the family – it's not like he has sissy or harlan left. so he answers his calls, sends the niblings pictures of canada wildlife, and is happy to go to every meetup. he's missed only a couple, because distance.

viktor's still the one most pissed about his powers coming back, at least. "i could put us at risk and the end the world again."

it's luther who's even more visibly awkward when allison shows up to grace's 6th. everyone can assume it's because of oblivion, but we the audience can guess it could be about the rumor SA and their complex history

we can take it to the town with keepers and evil santa – viktor and allison could have a different scene, one that acknowledges where they are now

("we've killed each other's children, we've hurt each other, but you asked me to trust you and i did." "i guess i can't ask you to be in my corner then." "show me a good reason to; i know you can" *cue proper alli redemption arc*)

but alli/luther... there's more hurt there because really the show broke their closeness and put a transparent bandaid to pretend it's still there despite s3. they used to be besties with a childhood that turned them into exes and circumstances have changed that into worse

so it's luther who tells her that "we can't be anything else, right now.. i don't think we can even be friends. i'm sorry"

allison and that brilliant thing where emmy raver lampman acts out trying not to cry

take your pick of reasoning – the SA, or he blames her in part along with reg for not programming sloane into the timeline. either because she went with it, or because she pressed the button early

in my au we settle loose ends btw. they talk it out or help each other in battle, as long as they make truce at the end.

we keep the exact scene as from the roleswap video. we also keep the deleted conversation with diego later on.

if we have to actually integrate the cia in any way (bc in this world, five works at an actual deli and spies on the keepers at night) one of them finds various files on them, and sloane too. takes the picture of her to keep it.

i say one of them because a viktor-diego arc would be cool and luther travelling with reg, actually calling the shots better would be interesting.

viktor's the one who both gets an insight into diego's vigilante fighter style, and is also there to let him figure out that change is ok. "the civilian life isnt so bad, here's an anecdote from something i actually liked about being ordinary back in the original s1 timeline."

(have i also said this au is just lila and diego missing the action in their lives but without cheating. they both work 9-5s and are tiredly trying to keep up and this is settled later)

no matter what the picture ends up in luther's hands by the end

it's what luther clutches amidst a proper final battle and ending, hoping to find sloane in the next life

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

Do you thinks kids were afraid of Luz and that why they bullied her and why she doesn’t have any friends

It's possible but the problem is that we're only told that Luz is bullied and never shown why so you could just as easily assume that people simply didn't like her just as you can argue that people were afraid of her.

Now, does the show have to have a flashback scene demonstrating how Luz was bullied? That's how most kid shows do it right? Well, you don't need a whole flashback but you have to do more than just have Luz tell us when she doesn't really act like someone who is bullied for her interests.

Instead of being shy about Azura she celebrates it fully and it's popular enough that they're making movie adaptations of them. It's like being a Harry Potter fan at the peak of its popularity.

She also makes friends rather easily at Hexside so she's not socially awkward and she's certainly capable of standing up for herself. So why was she bullied?

Because it makes her relatable.

Nearly everyone can relate to being bullied and it's very easy to make a character likable and have the audience connect to them when you give them experiences that mirror their own.

The problem with Luz is that the show never goes into her bullying at all, which is bizarre since she feels more at home in the Boiling Isles than in the human realm. You would think that her feeling like an outsider at home would be explored more and how the BI makes her feel accepted. It would also make her line about "always wanting to be understood" a natural end for her arc instead of coming in out of left field.

Instead, what we're shown makes it seem like Luz never even tried to make friends: Vee met Masha at the camp Luz was going to go to, which means that if Luz actually did go to that boring camp, then she would have met someone to share her interests with. Luz freaks out and has a pity-me speech in front of the whole class and afterward, two random kids commend her for how brave she is! If you really wanted to hammer home that Luz is an outsider, then have those two kids call her a weirdo or something, not validate her (which she barely acknowledges, btw).

It's also quite telling that Vee-as-Luz managed to make friends while Luz did not, which tells me that the opportunity was there for her to find her community in the human realm but chose not to for whatever reason.

The most we get is in the first episode when she brings live snakes to school and a firecracker that she plans to ignite. Cue the principal recommending summer camp for her where she can (shock!) learn to socialize better. This is a great setup for a kid who needs to learn to separate reality and fantasy better but a terrible one for a kid who is being bullied and is treated so poorly that she'd rather live in another dimension. Even season 3 doesn't fix this because it spends more time on Luz's grief over Manny and how she's failing school not because of being bullied but because the subjects are boring.

So, Luz is not an outsider; we have no evidence of this in the show other than it simply tells us that she was. Actions speak louder than words, and Luz's actions show me a person who is too caught up in her own fantasies to think about how that might affect other people.

[peapodbond]

A (Mostly) Accurate Timeline of Tommy Kinard

Referencing Lou’s interview with Tommy’s Backstory, his actual age, the dates in Chimney Begins and Bobby Begins Again (with rough estimates of Hen Begins because those cute fuckers didn’t give me a date title card), and the ways that the characters interact with him.

(Lou's) Date of Birth: November 10, 1984.

1984 - 2001: Tommy was an awkward, overweight kid when he was younger. He flourished in classes such as shop, where he could use his hands and create things and didn't necessarily need to talk to anyone. Then he hit a growth spurt, got taller, and joined the football team. Tommy quickly becomes an all star football guy who stands up for any kids who were like him when he was younger.

Tommy says in 7x04 that he flew helicopters for the army before he was a firefighter.

2001 - 2005: In 2001, Tommy would have been seventeen. September 11th was likely the impetus for joining the army, which he could have done as soon as it was his birthday. Basic training is ten weeks for the army, slightly longer if he was aiming for a specialized group. Army tours of duty are between six and twelve months. He could very easily have gone through basic, done between two and four tours in the Middle East, and still joined the fire academy so that he has just finished his probationary year when Chimney comes to the 118.

(updated April 26th: I've been reliably informed by multiple sources that a pilot would have to spend a minimum of five years with the army, and to that I can only say that the writers must be blamed for their timeline. ;) let us assume that there was a reason (good or bad) that Tommy only served four years and I will not speculate as to which in this post because that crosses over from a timeline to headcanons and I want everyone to be able to use this if they want. please see this post for slightly more detail on my reasoning)

2006: 22 years old.

Chimney spends between ten and twenty-four weeks at the fire academy, so Chimney comes into the station in 2006/2007, depending on the time of year (c’mon guys give me something it’s LA and you don’t really have weather out there) and the episode covers most of his probationary year. Most likely it is two years from start to finish, as Chimney does spend part of the episode doing things other than starting at the fire academy.

Tommy is probably the probie who came in just before Chimney, and would have just finished his probationary year. There is a scene in the early part of the episode where Gerrard asks when Tommy’s girlfriend is coming by to cook dinner, but there’s also an offhand comment that she’s never been by the house before so who really knows if there was a girlfriend at all.

Sal DeLuca seems to be Tommy’s senior partner, the same way that Eli is Chimney’s senior partner, so they were probably paired up to show him the ropes when he showed up at the firehouse. Tommy definitely takes his cues from Sal, who takes his cues from Gerrard. Tommy is a bit of a bully because of who he is modeling himself after and the culture that he feels he has to assimilate into but he also does look uncomfortable at a lot of the jokes directed towards Chimney, and you catch him throwing a look to check on Chimney at the funeral in the flashback. After Chimney saves his life Tommy does reach out – awkwardly, but he still reaches out, and even asks Eli about him at the end of the episode.

2010: 26 years old. 

Hen has just arrived at the 118. These dates are based on the Twilight movie joke about being Team Jacob and the fact that Taylor Lautner was 18 when Eclipse came out (2010) and most of us agreed during the first two movies that we would not make gross jokes about minors, right guys? Right Sal? Tommy doesn’t react violently to the gay joke which could be proof that he’s comfortable with who he is even if he hasn’t told anyone. If he’d been truly insulted or grossed out by the joke it’s more likely he would have protested rather than blowing a kiss at Sal. (update May 6th: In 6x01, canonically 2022, Hen tells Bobby that she has been a firefighter for twelve years, so your girl nailed this timing and she's very proud of herself.)

Tommy is splitting his time between Sal and Chimney — we see them sitting together at the dinner table in a similar formation to the way that Hen, Buck and Chim sit together in the current 118 — but still lets himself take cues from the way that Gerrard treats Hen at the beginning of the episode. He is less of a bully than he was in Chimney Begins but still going along with the crowd because he doesn’t want to rock the boat. Saying that the east coast vibes means she was being called a bitch isn’t great, but that entire scene does play into generally accepted stereotypes about the east and west coast in the states and it is perhaps a bad attempt at explaining that to Hen, rather than bullying – but it comes off badly so it doesn’t really matter what the intent was. Chimney looks very disappointed in him for this. (Tommy talks in 7x05 about not being out but knowing that he wasn’t straight when he was in the 118, and we can only assume that showing up to the 118 and meeting Sal and Gerrard in 2005 made it very clear right away that he should toe the line of the rest of the house or find a new job.) The look on his face when Hen does her speech on the fire truck is definitely a realization of who he’s become and it doesn’t appear that he likes who he is.

He is one of the firefighters who is impressed by Hen’s idea about the firehose in the mudslide and he and Sal make a point to come to Hen before she gets called upstairs to see Captain Cook and tell her that she was right about the call and that she is a good firefighter. In the captain’s office Hen is told that a few firefighters made reports – given that in this episode we are mostly focused on Chimney, Tommy, and Sal as her teammates, and they’re the only three that talk to her before this revelation, I believe the storytelling wants us to assume that those three were definitely some of the firefighters who made a report against Gerrard, though we can also safely assume that the entire house reported him.

2014: Bobby is in Minnesota.

Late 2014/early 2015: Bobby moves to LA. Tommy is 30/31.

Based on the montages, this episode covers more time than the other two episodes (both between a year and a half to two years long) and ends with Tommy leaving and Buck coming in. Buck is just finishing his probationary year in 2018, so it follows that Bobby Begins Again covers the three years between 2014 and 2017, with most of Buck’s probationary year happening off screen before the pilot.

We are told during the betting scene that pre-Bobby’s arrival there have been two years of captains switching in and out. Gerrard was kicked out pretty early in Hen’s career at the 118 and Captain Cook came in (but was close to retirement) so it tracks that he was their captain between 2010 and 2012 and then left. 

You��ll notice that during the betting scene and a lot of the fire house montages, Hen is no longer the only woman in the house or on their shift — the higher ups were serious about changing the culture in the LAFD and they did in fact put their money where their mouths were.

As of Bobby’s arrival to LA, Tommy is the third part of the Chimney and Hen trio – they get drinks together, they shit talk work (and Sal), they lend each other money, they talk about how scars get you the girls. (Tommy is obviously still not out at work, but he could be dating someone, it's hard to know.) This is the 118 mirror of Hen’s support group with Athena, and they would not be spending time with each other outside of work if they didn’t like each other. At this point Tommy and Chimney have been working together for eight years! Between Chimney and Hen they have worn off most of the asshole edges that Tommy had in the first two flashback episodes. Chimney, Hen and Tommy sit together at family dinner and Hen arranges a cake and a party for Tommy — something that she wouldn’t have done if she didn’t like him at that point — when he gets his transfer to the 217 and starts flying again. (This is also the first instance of Hen getting a cake to celebrate things happening at the 118.)

Tommy has been at the 118 for twelve years. Chimney and Tommy have worked together for eleven years. Hen and Tommy have worked together for seven years. Bobby and Tommy have worked together for three years.

2019: 35 years old

Tommy has been at the 217 for two years and redirects a flight of their water plane to the subdivision when Chimney calls him. Chim says “Hey it’s Howie,” and still has Tommy’s number saved in his phone. We can assume that they are at least in sporadic contact and have been since Tommy left. We’ll call the odds 50/50 on the chance that Tommy has told Chimney (and perhaps Hen) that he is not straight at this point. Everyone says the Chimney can’t keep a secret but both he and Hen know that there is a difference between a secret and outing someone. (update May 6th: based on the lack of total surprise from both of them that it was Tommy that Buck decided to kiss so hard he got soot beard, I am even more confident now that at some point between leaving the 118 and season seven Tommy did in fact tell both of his friends that he wasn't straight. How and when he did is something I will let y'all decide in fanfic! Still trying to keep this post to things that can be canonically backed up.

Spring 2024: 39 years old

Steals a helicopter for Hen when Chimney calls, flies them to a capsized cruise ship in the middle of a hurricane, makes friends with Eddie and kisses Buck. Gets invited to Chimney and Maddie’s wedding as Buck’s date. (There is a higher than zero chance that he has already been invited by Chimney since they’re friends and he’s just shocked Buck considers that a good third date.)

References:

https://www.goarmy.com/how-to-join/requirements.html

https://www.operationmilitarykids.org/how-long-is-a-tour-of-duty-in-the-military/

https://www.operationmilitarykids.org/heres-how-long-basic-training-is-for-each-military-branch/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/9-1-1-show-tommy-buck-kiss-relationship-lou-ferrigno-jr-1235872688/#

https://firefighternow.com/fire-academy-guide/

https://firefighternow.com/probationary-firefighter/

https://www.goarmy.com/careers-and-jobs/specialty-careers/aviation.html

https://benefits.com/veterans-benefits/types-military-discharge/

**updated April 26th with some extra references and a little explanation as to why the timeline is off (hint: it's the writer's fault ;) )

**updated May 6th with even more information (and now I kind of want to do Chim and Hen too)

[do-u-know-this-autisticcharacter]

Do You Know This (non-canon) autistic Character?

Propaganda:

This Tumblr post (I will copy and paste, we had to be detectives due to original link being broken as url had changed. They may change url again).

"Reasons why i headcanon El Hopper as autistic, by an autistic Stranger Things fan

1. issues with social skills

- isolation or autism? okay so I know a large part of the reason she has trouble with social cues is the fact that she was isolated in a lab for many of her formative years, but I think it goes deeper than this. She wasn't completely alone. There were other kids in the lab and obviously all of the kids from the lab are going to have stunted social development and stuff, but even when she was with the other kids in the lab, she was a bit of an outcast. This was shown in the flashbacks in season 4, where she was getting bullied for being "slow" and she was much quieter than the other kids. We also saw Kali as an adult, and even though she was still an outcast, her social skills seemed pretty average. the issues she did have were pretty clearly a direct result of her trauma, whereas El seemed to have issues connecting with others in the lab even before she was traumatized.

- in the real world So up until season 4 we don't really get to see El interacting with other kids her age, aside from the people who she is friends with. In season 4, when she goes to high school in CA, she is very clearly an outcast. although we don't see exactly why or when the bullying started, i think it's pretty clear that it's because they think she is awkward and doesn't fit in completely

2. emotional regulation

- the most prominent example of this in the show is her anger issues. when El gets upset, she often reacts very strongly and gets fired up pretty quickly. she often resorts to using her powers in intense scenarios when emotions are running high. This is shown many times during the show, one example is her argument with Hopper where she loses control of her powers and breaks all the windows. This specific instance is also intertwined with her trauma from the lab and her being overstimulated, but I think throughout the show there are plenty of examples where something similar happens, like when she hits Angela.

- She also acts largely on emotion in general, this is less of a regulation issue and more just a general character trait that she has. it's not a negative thing either, i just notice that she is not the type the think long and hard before doing something, she reacts pretty quickly to things and doesn't really "think before you speak/act"

- related to this, as well as overstimulation (mentioned later) she is shown having a meltdown/shutdown when emotions are too intense

- she also shows her emotions pretty openly on her face, once again tho this isn't specific to autism It is pretty common to be overly expressive

3. Routine

- in season 2, Hopper tells Elevn different schedules and plans, and whenever he breaks from this she gets pretty upset. For example she gets mad that he is late for their movie night. There are several instances of this

- She also eats eggos regularly (more on that later) amd watches tv shows with Hopper. While these things aren't specifically stated to be done on a schedule, I think we can assume that they are routines, since meals happen routinely and television at the time would have operated on a daily schedule.

4. black and white thinking/morals

- "Friends Don't Lie" is probably the best example of this. El hears this mantra when she first meets the boys and ever since then it's been a pretty important part of her moral code. She believes this fully, with almost no exceptions. although she does start to deviate from this in season 4, I still think this is a pretty good example of the black and white morals common in autistic people

5. echolalia

- she repeats words a lot of the time, for example repeating phrases she learned from other people and using them repeatedly "mouth breather" "bitchin'" etc

- in conversation with people, she will often repeat back parts of their sentences ("give him a taste of his own medicine" "give him the medicine?" and "you're going to dump his ass" "dump his ass")

6. picky eating/sensory stuff

- eggos: although it's not clearly stated that she has an issue with any other foods, she has a very clear preference for eggos which is similar to how a lot of autistic people have specific foods that we are comfortable eating.

7. stimming

- mentioned earlier with the echolalia, but I think repeating words and learning new words is a self-soothing thing

- I'll have to look back at the show a little bit more but I'm pretty sure she tends to rock back and forth sometimes? could be wrong about this tho

8. difficulty with language

- although this has largely been influenced by the lab and her coma, her speech issues do parallel struggles that many autistic people also have

- she is partially non-verbal, although she becomes more and more verbal throughout the show. she still does go quiet in some situations though

- her general speaking cadence is just. very autistic. each word is spoken very deliberately and precisely.

9. overstimulation/meltdowns

- she sometimes gets overwhelmed when there is a lot going on, for example in season 2 when she is arguing with Hopper, and in season 4 when she is being surrounded by people in the roller rink.

- every time she uses her power she has a low battery, although I don't think this was intentional I think it's a pretty good metaphor for being overstimulated and how much energy a meltdown takes out of you

10. fashion sense

- she generally is not super aware of fashion trends, and dresses more for physical and emotional comfort than to be trendy. once again not specific to autistic people but a very common trait for us.

That's all i can think of for now, but if there are any other ideas people have please let me know"